New Technology Uses Microwave Heat to Achieve Smooth, Dry Underarms

A brand new hair technology has hit the hair removal market. According to Women’s Health, the FDA has recently cleared the use of Miramar Labs’ miraDry technology for the removal of armpit hair. These treatments use microwave energy to permanently reduce the presence of armpit hair — as well as perspiration.

The machine, which looks similar to a barcode scanner, embeds microwave energy into the armpit. It is targeted directly to the area between the fat and skin, where sweat glands and hair molecules are found. The intensity of the microwave energy completely destroys the sweat glands and follicles, preventing any new sweat or hair generation.

While the company says that the treatment is not painful, patients are nevertheless given a local anesthesia. In addition, patients have reported pain and swelling in the area, which can last between a day and several weeks.

The newly approved miraDry differs from the traditional laser hair removal Calgary, which has become the standard for permanent hair loss.

Despite the recent FDA approval, women’s health doctor Jennifer Wider is not quiet convinced that the new technology is entirely safe for hair removal.

”The use of microwave technology has been established for sweating, and the safety and efficiency has been well-established,” she says. “There’s not much long-term information and data on safety and efficacy for hair removal.”

Wider suggests that patients hold off on the procedure until more long-term research can be done on the effects of microwave energy on hair removal. For those who wish to proceed with the treatment, Wider stresses that the success of the procedure is finding an experienced and competent specialist.